What Matters Most
by Purin-chan
Summary: When Gourry and Amelia are taken hostage by Ashevine the Crimson, Lina and Zelgadiss decide to team up in order to thwart the sorceress's plans. Thus begins an adventure with little bits of ZL fluff added in.
1. Chapter 1

(Reuploaded on 5-13-10 because of formatting issues with the original version.)

What Matters Most – Chapter One

It was a simple letter, left behind only to be found by the person it was meant for. And it was exactly she who found it; she read the note and promptly crumpled it up in her fist, eyes filled with a sudden burst of rage--and a thirst for vengeance.

_That stupid idiot_, her mind screamed as her teeth gnawed away at her bottom lip. She pulled on her cape and stomped through the door of her room, tossing the crumpled letter over her shoulder as she stormed away.

o o o o o

_Dear Lina Inverse_, she thought, reciting the words of the letter in her mind. _We have the blond swordsman in our custody. Don't worry, as he is relatively unharmed. _

She left a small handful of coins on the old wooden table as she passed by the front counter, deeming it a sufficient amount for her stay. As she stepped out, she raised a hand to shield her eyes from the intense sunlight that rained down on her. _Man, it's going to be a rough day,_ she thought, and tugged on her collar as she started on the road.

_I will be frank with you, as I understand that you are a woman of business, and as am I. I am hereby issuing you a challenge, Lina Inverse, as a fellow sorcerer and member of the Sorcerer's Guild. I have heard the stories of your endeavors, and I find them particularly fascinating. Therefore, I can't help but be curious about which one of us is more skilled. I hope you will concede to this offer, especially since I can't guarantee Gourry's enduring safety. My children are a bit bloodthirsty, and fresh food is scarce to come by._

"…Ashevine the Crimson," concluded Lina. She did not closely associate with the other members of the Sorcerer's guild, but she at least knew their names, particularly the ones of color. Some of them bought their way in with money; others earned enough merit to become researchers--honorable or not. This particular sorceress was one of the latter--Lina had heard rumors of her vicious chimerical beasts, but beyond that she did not care. Whatever the sorceress did on her free time was her own business.

Of course, that wasn't the case anymore. After all, Lina was never one to disappoint her challengers.

o o o o o

"You can do it, Lina. Keep going, Lina. Ah--stop talking to yourself, Lina. This is a bad sign, Lina…"

She let out a long, heavy sigh as she continued to drag her feet along the road under the pounding sunlight. Sweat was dripping down the sides of her face as she treaded onward, pushing herself as she considered forgetting the ordeal entirely. If not for her pride, she would have just ignored the issue and continued what she was doing before; Gourry would get himself out eventually. That, and it was awfully boring to travel alone. "There's no one to talk to," she groaned.

A few minutes after she took a shortcut through the forest, she became aware of another presence following behind her. Pretending not to have noticed, she continued on her way as normal, but she kept her guard up. _Is there only one_…?

A rustle in the other direction indicated otherwise. Her heart began to race with the sudden increase in tension. Were there many of them? And how good were they? If they were Ashevine's chimeras--which she sincerely hoped they weren't--she might have a bit of difficulty dealing with them. Ashevine was, after all, one of the sorcery geniuses of the time in that department of research.

Lina stopped and noticed the silenced footsteps as well. She deliberated her choices for a moment. She could either face them here, or she could wait for a more opportune moment to deal with them. Judging by the sounds--there were probably two others there with her. _That's one too many_, she thought. _Better run_.

She shifted in one direction, then bolted off in the other. When her pursuers finally caught on and chased after her, she tossed a spell over her shoulder. "Flare Arrow!"

The fire latched onto a number of trees and exploded, leaving behind a thick cloud of dust. Unfortunately, that was not enough to ward off her pursuers, and she continued to glance over her shoulder as she ran. "Damn! I was hoping this would be eas--Eek!"

Lina squeaked as she tripped over a root, falling painfully on her hip and shoulder. She groaned and rolled over onto her back, wincing at the sharp pain in her ankle. "Ugh…Wah!"

The attack missed her by a hair--the sickle arm sank into the ground just next to her ear, and her eyes widened as an uneasy sound came from her throat. It was a disgusting creature that seemed to be some sort of mix between a mantis, octopus, and snail. Coming from its snail-like body encasing were a number of octopus-like limbs, and at the end of each was a scythe-like arm--one of which was embedded in the ground next to her. She quickly pushed herself up and split her legs, dodging the second arm, then threw her head back as another swiped over her. As her head hung upside down, she saw the tree behind her get slashed and begin to fall in her direction, and she quickly rolled out of the way as it collapsed on the creature.

Holding her breath in anticipation, she propped herself up with an elbow and a hand to watch how the chimera would respond. It squirmed underneath the weight of the tree, but it was nowhere near dead--as indicated by the flailing sickle limbs. Her attempt to run was thwarted--she fell to the ground as soon as she put weight on her foot; it was sprained. Lina cursed quietly and began to channel white magic into her ankle. "Come on, come on, come on…"

The chimera threw a number of arms around the tree trunk and snapped it in half, then threw it to the side with a heavy amount of force. Lina closed her eyes as the ground shook, then opened them to find the creature making its way towards her. In a panic, she attempted to get back up on her feet, but again tripped when she attempted to run. Then she saw the chimera raise an arm to attack. "Oh, hell--" she cursed as she closed her eyes, calling to mind the first spell she could think of.

"Bom di wind!"

Her eyes shot open, and she squealed a bit as the intense winds passed over her and blew the chimera off balance. It fell to the ground with a hard thud, exposing its soft underbelly. She blinked--trying to grasp the situation. Then she exclaimed "That voice!"

A strong, supporting hand was suddenly at her back. "Are you okay, Lina?"

She glanced up, finding the familiar face she expected to see there. She couldn't help but smile brightly as she excitedly called his name, "Zel!"

He didn't get to see her excitement, as his gaze was fixed on the enemy. "Think you want to finish this up?"

She lowered her head and smiled deviously. "I've got just the right spell for it." She pressed her palms together. As she pulled them apart, she exclaimed "Burst Flare!"

The spell shot from her hands toward its target, sending the chimera up in a sea of blue flames, eventually being reduced to nothing more than a sheet of ash--shell and all. When all was over and done, Lina pressed a hand to her heart and exhaled roughly. "I'm saved."

"I didn't expect to see you in such a tight pinch."

She pouted her lips at him. "Well if you were there why didn't you come help me out sooner?" she demanded to know as he made his way around her.

"I had to deal with the other one," he replied coolly, and inspected her ankle. She winced as he lifted it, feeling tears springing to her eyes. He lifted his eyes to question her response. "That bad?"

"Be careful with it!" she griped, fangs appearing as teardrops formed at the corners of her eyes. She remained tense until he began to channel white magic into her ankle, mending the broken tissue. When the pain had subsided, she opened her mouth to ask, "By the way, what are you doing here?"

He suddenly got up and turned his back on her, walking away without a word. She blinked at him before realizing what he was attempting to do--escape. "Ah!" Lina started as she hopped to her feet and chased after him. "Why are you running off on your own again, Zel?"

He continued to walk; she continued to pester and prod him. After a few minutes of that silly charade, he finally paused to answer her question. "The challenge was issued only to me, and if I get you involved, it might risk Amelia's life--"

"Wait. What do you mean 'risk Amelia's life'?"

"I mean," he sighed, "she's being held ransom."

"Okay. In exchange for what?"

"Me."

Lina paused to contemplate the situation. Then, carefully, she added, "Ashevine?"

That caught his attention. "How did you know?"

"Because she issued me a challenge in exchange for Gourry," Lina replied, crossing her arms. The situation made sense before, but now it did not. What was Ashevine trying to achieve, summoning them both at the same time? Lina might have surmised that a chimerical body like Zelgadiss's would intrigue the sorceress, but to summon them both at the same time was no coincidence. Ashevine was up to something--but what?

"What's the meaning of this?"

"I don't know," Lina replied. "But I don't think she expected us to find one another along the way. Why don't we stick together for the time being?--At least until we figure out what's going on."

He nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

She smiled at him. "Good! Then first--we find a town to stay in for the evening to eat and bathe. I'm caked in sweat and I need a good bath before I can keep going."

o o o o o

The sun was already setting by the time they walked into the town of Rhaven. Though the raw heat of the day was gone, the humidity still clung heavily to the air, and Lina was definitely in one of her fouler moods as a result of it. She couldn't wait to wash herself off and get into a nice bed.

They walked into the first decent inn they could find and went right up to the innkeeper. "I need a room, pops!" Lina declared.

"Make that two."

"Right, two."

The old man raised an eyebrow at them. "Are you two not together?" he asked.

"No," Lina quickly replied. "Well, yes, but no." Lina began to blush at her own clumsiness with words, and thus she tried to cover up her embarrassment by demanding, "Look, can you just get us our rooms? I'm hot and tired and I'd like to get to bed."

"Oh?" the man responded, grinning mischievously at her choice of words. "Is there anything else I can do for you, lass? Drinks, mayhaps?"

"The rooms will be enough," Zelgadiss replied, stepping forward. He had his mask and hood pulled on, but his eyes were enough to intimidate; the old man seemed to be making eyes at Lina, and god knew what else he was thinking about after that sentence. "If you can show them to us, then great. If not, we'll go find another place to stay."

The man frowned, but he complied with the order. "Right this way then…"

Zelgadiss slipped in behind the man, keeping between him and Lina. Leaning in so only Zelgadiss could hear, Lina whispered, "Good going, Zel!"

He leaned back and whispered, "Were you _okay_ with him looking at you like that?"

"Only to lower the price, of course," Lina replied with a wink. When Zelgadiss rolled his eyes at her, she got an idea. Playfully, she skipped forward and jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow. "Why? Did it bother you that much?"

He gave her a look. "Lina..."

"Are you jealous? Ha!"

"Cut that out!"

"Okay you two. I've got one room here," the innkeeper interrupted as he unlocked the door. He held the door open, but Lina and Zelgadiss were so preoccupied with one another that they walked right past the room. A bit irritated, the man cleared his throat rather loudly, hoping to attract their attention.

The bit worked, for they both stopped in their tracks and glanced over to the room. The man gestured to the open door. "For the lady."

A rather large smile appeared on Lina's face. "Don't mind if I do!" she replied as she skipped in, shutting the door behind her with a small wave. Zelgadiss pressed his forefinger and thumb against his forehead as he sighed. Lina was so easy to please when treated like a girl.

"Dinner will be in an hour!" the innkeeper shouted after her.

"Okay!"

After it went silent, the man smiled and pointed a thumb at the room. "She's a cute girl. I'm surprised you haven't made a move on her yet."

Zelgadiss coughed. "I'd rather keep my head on my shoulders," he answered quietly.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing. Where is my room?"

"Right this way…"

o o o o o

Lina hummed a cheery tune as she slipped out of her garments and into a white, fluffy bath towel. Her bad mood was turned upside down by the gentlemanly comment, and she was flattered that _someone_ found her attractive--regardless of his age. Being surrounded by Zelgadiss and Gourry all the time, she never got the right kind of attention from the opposite sex. Hell--even Amelia always got more of that sort of attention than she did, and she blamed that directly on the girl's blessed assets.

She paused to consider the current situation. _Does this mean that Zel finally has feelings for Amelia?_ _It's about time_, she thought, though only a small part of her rejoiced in the fact. The other half felt rather lonely after thinking about it.

She shook her head. It was best not to think too much about complicated things. She should be happy for them, and that should be all. _Maybe I shouldn't have joked with him like that_, she thought, reflecting on her own actions.

Lina hopped over and poked her head out the door, glancing up and down the hallway for any people that might catch her as she darted for the bath. Seeing that there weren't any people present, she made a quick run for the bath rooms and managed to slip in without anyone noticing. To her delight, there was also no one in the bath--she would have the entire place to herself.

The cool water felt nice as it ran down her back. She pulled her hair up and poured more water over her skin, closing her eyes as the cold stream swept away all the heat. She scrubbed herself free of all the dirt and grime; she even took some extra time to remove the dirt from beneath her nails--something she didn't make a habit of doing, but did today since she was feeling particularly feminine. After rinsing herself off and drying herself with a towel, she slipped into a set of clean, white pajamas and threw the towel over her shoulders to keep her wet hair off her shoulders.

When she stepped back into the hallway, she paused as she deliberated going back to her room. There were only a few minutes before dinner, and spending them alone wasn't quite what she was looking forward to doing. Deciding on the other option, Lina turned around and walked down to Zelgadiss's room, knocking on the door when she stood in front of it.

He was shirtless when he opened the door, and they both stared at each other for a moment before Zelgadiss finally spoke. "What is it?"

"Um." Lina averted her gaze, feeling rather bashful when her eyes kept drifting down to his exposed body. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a bad burn mark on his shoulder. "What happened?" she asked, reaching out to his wound.

"Acid," he replied. "The chimera--the other one you didn't fight--spat acid."

Lina looked at him. "But you should have been able to dodge that easily?"

He remained silent and stepped back, permitting entrance. As he closed the door behind her, he said, "I was distracted when I heard a loud tree hit the ground."

Lina watched him as he sat down in a chair and inspected his wound. It was on the back side of his shoulder, so it was a challenge for him to get a good look at it. She sighed quietly and shook her head slowly as she smiled languidly at him. He always tried to hide the truth, but Lina had learned how to read him like an open book. She covered her mouth with a hand to keep from giggling out loud; he was cute when he tried to hide his concern for his friends--a concern that he always denied having. When she had regained her composure, she stepped forward, "Let me."

Zelgadiss was never one to request the assistance of others--it was in his nature to be a lone wolf. Lina knew that and respected it, but there were times when she wished he could rely on her a little bit. She trusted him, but it didn't really seem like the feeling was returned. _Or maybe he just requires a little more effort_, she thought, thinking back to Amelia's persistence as she rolled her eyes.

She inspected his wound--it was a bad burn, but not something a good healing spell couldn't fix. Zelgadiss rested his elbows on his knees as Lina channeled white magic into the wound. Feeling that the air was becoming too stiff for her tastes, Lina filled it in with some conversation. "So, how is Amelia?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen her except once since we split ways."

The answer was surprising. "Really? I thought--"

"I wanted my cure. I still do."

"Oh." There was a heavy silence.

"How is Gourry?"

"The same. He eats a lot, forgets a lot, and says too much."

"What an easygoing guy."

"I know."

There was a knock at the door. "Dinner is ready!"

"Yes!" Lina exclaimed excitedly, and slapped Zelgadiss on the back where his wound had been. "Let's go!"

Zelgadiss winced. "I see you haven't changed either," he commented.

"Of course not!" Lina boasted confidently, as if it were something to be proud of.

He turned away just in time to hide the smile that appeared. Then he picked up his tunic and pulled it on so that they could go to dinner--Lina didn't like to be kept waiting when it came to food. _I guess some things never change_…

"Hurry up!"

o o o o o

"…and then he told me he lost it! Can you believe that? That stupid jellyfish-for-brains wasted our thirty-thousand gold effort!"

Zelgadiss silently sipped his wine. He was getting his ear chatted off by Lina in-between her stuffed mouths, and he lost interest halfway through the story. All she talked about was Gourry--and as much as he liked the guy, he didn't care to hear about the swordsman's numerous stumbles and shortcomings.

Lina could tell that her companion wasn't listening, and she wasn't very happy about it. Rather than burst out in anger, though, she decided to catch him off guard by playing it cool. "Let me taste some of that," she interjected, swiping his glass from him. Then she promptly took a swig of the red liquid, pouring it right down her throat, and pursed her lips a bit at the taste as she sighed contentedly.

The waiter showed up promptly, offering a refill. "Would you care for more?" he asked, milking more gold out of his customers.

"Fill 'er up," Lina replied boorishly as she threw her feet up on the table. Zelgadiss raised an eyebrow at her strangely as she swirled the liquid around her glass and promptly downed that one as well.

"Since when did you have such poor drinking habits?" he inquired.

"Um. Since…" she pressed her finger to her forehead to think, but the alcohol was starting to make her vision swim. "I can't rem'mber. Today?"

He frowned at her slur. "Lina…"

"Wait! Wait!" said Lina as she waved her arms around, mimicking the motion of someone trying to catch attention. Then she smacked her lips a bit, burped, and continued, "I missed you."

His ear twitched. "What?"

"Did'joo mish me?"

"I…" he paused as he blinked at her. What was she trying to say? "But wasn't Gourry with you?" he inquired, trying to change the topic.

"Stupid jellfish Gourry," she mumbled. "I _hate_ idiots." She slammed her hand on the table as she said "hate," then shook her hand, waving away the pain. Then she threw her elbow on the table, leaned forward, and pointed a finger at Zelgadiss. "But you… I like you."

"W-" he began, but immediately stuttered and lost his ability to speak. Zel could feel the blush burning on his cheeks and pulled his mask over his cheeks to hide it. He fought to find words to say--Lina must have been speaking nonsense, but her words still affected him.

"But…even though I've been a girl, you always look at Amelia, Amelia, Amelia." She slapped her knee each time she repeated the girl's name. "And then Gourry… Gourry never looks at me."

The mask slipped from his face then, and he pulled his hood back down slowly as he gazed at Lina. She never showed it, but suddenly there was this sad, discontent look on her face--a face that seemed alien on her.

"Lina?"

She didn't respond, but her head started to teeter, and Zelgadiss realized that she had somehow nodded off in the middle of their conversation. _She must have been more tired than she looked_, he thought.

The waiter came up then. "Can I interest you in dessert, per--Oh."

Zelgadiss pressed his index finger up against his lips to silence the boy. "I think we'll have to pass on that," he replied as he lifted Lina from her chair. "She's had a little too much to eat. Just put the bill on my tab."

The boy stared silently as Zelgadiss carried Lina away, mesmerized by the relationship they shared. There was something there, but it wasn't love. It was something beyond being a man and a woman; it was something that transcended that. And above all--it was just beginning to blossom.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Hm. This chapter was sort of written on a whim--a whim that keeps coming back to me every now and then. I had been meaning to write a ZL story for a while now, but all my previous attempts have been bleh. I don't know when or if it will be updated--my ZL inspirations only attack once every blue moon in comparison to my XL inspirations. Maybe if it's favorable in the reader's eyes, I might be more compelled to continue :P.

That's my discreet way of saying: If you liked it, please review.


	2. Chapter 2

What Matters Most – Chapter Two

Lina woke the next morning feeling like she had shoved her head through the grinder, beaten the mush with a mallet, and fed the pieces to the fish. At least, that would have explained the dizzy floating-on-the-surface-of-the-ocean feeling she had as she stumbled her way across the floor and vomited into the washing bowl. Definitely not the way she wanted to start her day.

She relaxed as the nausea finally subsided. She swiped her hand across her forehead, wiping away the cold perspiration that made her shiver, and rubbed the tears out of her eyes. Then she pulled the vase of water over and poured out some of the cool water into her hand before splashing it on her face. It was a welcome relief.

She didn't bother drying her face off—the coolness of the water felt fresh on her skin. She leaned back against her bed and allowed her head to fall back, throwing an arm over her eyes for comfort. Thinking back to the events of last night, she realized that she was definitely hung over, and that it was an experience she would make note of never to repeat again.

A chill ran up her spine and her whole body shuddered in response. She vaguely remembered eating dinner with Zelgadiss and little tidbits of their conversation before the drinking, but she could not remember anything that had come after the glasses of wine she had. And the harder she tried to recollect those memories, the more her head hurt.

There was a knock at the door. Thinking it was her companion, she called back, "Yeah? Come in!"

She jumped a little in surprise when the inn owner—that creepy man—walked in. "Breakfast is ready," he said as he inspected her. Smelling the foul odor of vomit, he pinched his nose and added, "Rough night?"

Lina felt slightly irritated by the comment--and the fact that he was still being too liberal with his eyes. "Yes. And thank you for the message," she said, giving off the vibe that she wanted him gone. He caught the hint and promptly vanished from view, pulling the door shut behind him. As she was about to slip out of her pajamas, though, another knock came at the door.

"What!" she growled.

There was a pause. "Lina?"

Her cheeks turned a little pink as she responded, "Oh. Come in, Zel."

He opened the door just a crack. "How are you feeling?" he asked, afraid of intruding further on her space. It was like crossing into a lioness's territory.

"Awful."

"Do you need me to get you anything?"

"No," she replied slowly as she rubbed the back of her head. The thought of Zelgadiss acting strangely concerned about her today occurred to her, but she didn't pay it much attention. The boy rarely acted out of compassion, so she wasn't going to ruin it by teasing him about it. "On second thought, could you go ahead and put in two orders of everything on the menu for me?" she asked.

"Your stomach can handle it?"

"Of course. I need to make up for what was lost, too."

He sighed—an audible one that she could hear. "Alright. I'll be waiting for you downstairs."

o o o o o

She waited for the door to close before she clasped her hand over her mouth again. The nausea had come back tenfold. She bent over the bowl and held her breath in anticipation for the waves. Zelgadiss might have to wait longer than she had originally intended him to.

Zelgadiss watched Lina come down the stairs into the downstairs lobby with a hand on the railing and her other clutching her stomach. Her face still looked pale and tinted various shades of green. He contemplated getting up to help her, but the forced smile she put on her face kept him in his seat. She always was the type to grin and bear it, and he respected that, at least for the moment.

Lina took her seat next to him at the round table. She took a long, deliberate breath and exhaled slowly, then excitedly asked, "So what's on the menu?" After her eyes swept the table, she added, "Ah, what does it matter? Let's eat!"

He calmly refilled his cup of coffee as she began to dig in, then poured another cup and slid it over to her. When she gave him an odd look (which, in fact, could be interpreted as odd on her part because she was chewing a mouthful of food), he responded, "I find that coffee soothes my hangovers."

She swallowed and rolled her eyes at him. "Zel, coffee soothes your _anything_." He shrugged at her and drank his cup, and then she picked up her own cup and sipped at it. He was right, though, for the hotness of the liquid at least put her tense stomach muscles to ease. When she made quick work of that cup, she slid the cup back over to him for a refill.

"Starting to understand the wonders of coffee?" he asked with a small smug grin on his face as he poured her another cup.

"Absolutely," she replied with a snort. As she took the cup from him, she added, "Soon I'll be just like you. Can't function without it."

"Don't think so," he answered. "I'm only feeling nice enough to share today because of what you said last night."

She paused just as the edge of the cup touched her lips. The sound of him sipping at his own cup of coffee was the only noise that existed between them for a moment. Then she set the cup down and warily approached the subject. "W-what did I say?"

He grinned behind the safety of his cup. "You made me promise not to tell _anyone_, including you."

She glared at him. "Zel…"

"Okay, okay. It was about Gourry…"

Her face flushed, and she immediately turned away. "Uhm…what did I say about him?"

"Oh nothing much. Just the usual complaint." When he saw her heave a sigh of relief, he threw in another catch, "You did say something interesting about _me_, though." He was enjoying this, and it was a way for him to get back at her for the unnecessary teasing she gave him the day before.

This comment elicited a more obvious reaction from her. "No way! You're making that up!" she protested hotly. Zelgadiss noted how her face grew even redder with this reaction, and he was both surprised and curious to know why she reacted strongly to his comment.

"I'm actually not," he responded, blinking at her. She was staring at him with large eyes, slightly panicked. Then, as though reason reclaimed her, she covered her face with a hand and sank into her seat again, turning her attention back to the food in front of her, the cup of coffee now neglected. She silently continued to shovel food into her mouth and eventually worked off the awkward atmosphere after a number of plates, after which she ordered triple extra portions of three dishes she particularly liked. When she finished those and leaned back in her chair with a satisfied sigh, Zelgadiss spoke up again. "Feeling better?"

"Much," she answered, picking at the residues left between her teeth with a bone. "And I'm ready to get out of here. Hey sir! Would you hand this guy the check?"

It was Zel's turn to offer a hotheaded retort. "Hey, Lina--"

"Oh, come on Zel. It's been years since we've seen each other. Treat me just this once pleeeeeeease?" she asked him in a high-pitched voice, attempting to pull the cute act she knew he had a hard time resisting.

Apparently she got him at the wrong angle, though, for he showed no sign of falling. With a sigh, she picked up the check and pulled out the correct amount of change. "You know, we've got to work on the gentlemanly part of you one of these days."

"Only if we get to work on the womanly part of _you_, too…h-hold on a second, Lina!"

"_What_ _was that_?"

"A joke! It was a joke!"

The fireball flickered ominously in her hand.

"Aha! It was so funny I forgot to laugh!" she said. And then there was an explosion.

o o o o o

"Mmm it feels great outside!" Lina exclaimed as she stretched her arms over her head, pulling out the aches of her back. "I can't wait to check out the local eateries," she added cheerily.

"If they're still open. I think you scared most of the civilians into hiding," he said, pointing out how doors and windows were being closed hurriedly. "It looks like your usual feasting will have to wait," he said, and continued to fiddle with his mask, attempting to pull it back into the proper position.

Lina regarded him curiously, then noticed the closed windows and silent streets. Her ears picked up the acute sounds of scuffling feet following from behind her. "Seems that way, doesn't it," she stated softly. Her hand prepared a spell as Zelgadiss fell into formation behind her, prepared for any disturbances from behind.

"I would say there are four of them, and from what I can tell, they seem to be a mix of troll and berserker," Zelgadiss said, finally dropping his mask and hood that seemed to be more of a hassle than it was a convenience. And then he added, "The last part is lost to me."

Lina sighed. "Those two are trouble enough." Trolls were tough to take down on their own, and berserkers were persistent little buggers. A combination of the two did not bode well. "But what are they doing here in town?" Zelgadiss asked. They did not commonly invade human territory.

"Obviously a gift to us from Ashevine," Lina replied. She readied the spell she had specifically to counter a troll's quick healing abilities, and it glowed green at the end of her fingertip. Hopefully they were still troll enough for it to be effective.

There was a sudden unified roaring, and the shadows began to emerge from hiding. One particular one leapt through the air towards Zelgadiss and Lina, and they dodged in separate directions to avoid the attack. As Lina spun around to face the attacker, she saw that it had closed the distance between them before she had fully reacted.

_Fast!_ She gritted her teeth as she drew her sword to parry an attack and skidded backwards on her feet. _And strong_, she noted, and bit her lip. They were going to be tougher to handle than she had initially expected. It was unmistakeably one of Ashevine's creations—only she would be able to provide the perfect mix for a killing machine.

The spell before dissipated from her finger with a small _pop_, and she instead conjured up a fireball in its place. She threw the spell in the face of her attacker as it leapt once more towards her, shouting, "_Fireball_!" Then she dodged left, missing an attack from another chimera coming from the right. She flipped her sword over, pointing the blade in the opposite direction, and began to charge it with electricity. This she drove into the chimera, shouting, "Digger Bolt!"

She paused for a moment to check the whereabouts of Zelgadiss. He was distanced from her and handling another mob, but with his enchanted sword the task was much easier. "If only Gourry were here," Lina found herself thinking with a small frown, but wishing for his help would not get them out of this little predicament. She heard another growl from her left and dodged it, readying another fireball, but carelessly rolled into the oncoming path of another chimera. She was about to cast the spell in its direction, but it was already too close to her, and she could not throw up a protection spell in time to cushion the explosion.

As her mind sorted through options, however, a gleam of red cut through the eyes of the creature, and it fell backward, clinging to its eyes as they bled with black ooze. Lina glanced up to see Zelgadiss extending himself over her. Then he turned in the other direction and aimed a fireball at the mob that followed him. "Don't be so careless. I can't always be at your side like Gourry," he chided.

"Hmph! I would've been fine," she grouched back at him, losing whatever part of her that initially would have thanked him. As she steadied herself back up on her feet, she asked him, "So what do you think? They're too fast and coordinated for me to get a proper distance for spell casting." As much as she hated to admit it, it was the truth. She didn't realize how badly she had crippled herself by depending on Gourry to handle swordsmanship—she had abandoned her own subpar abilities in the art after teaming up with him.

Lina realized that Zelgadiss was whispering an incantation and leaned in a bit to hear what he had in mind.

_Infinite earth, mother who nurtures all life,_

"Eh? Dug haut?" she exclaimed in sudden panic.

_Obey my will_—

"Wait wait wait wait!" she exclaimed and jumped on him from behind, sealing his hands. He struggled against her. "What are you doing, Lina!"

"Do you want to bring all the buildings down on top of us?"

A loud roar interrupted their argument. "Close your eyes," she whispered into his ear. Then she shouted, "_Lighting_!"

The brilliant light exploded over a matter of seconds, blinding all of their pursuers briefly as they hastily made an exit, taking refuge inside of an empty building full of crates and boxes.

She beat him over the head with an iron pipe.

"Ow."

"Do I matter to you at all?" she screeched at him, waving the pipe angrily at him.

"Why do I feel like I've heard this before?" She hit him again for that one. "Ow."

"Because you _have_." A vein popped out on her forehead as she recalled the time he had buried her under a pile of rubble, all in exchange for a few pages of the Claire Bible. She wasn't quite done with him, but there was a roar just outside the building, and they both ducked down behind a stack of crates. "Listen," she began, "we need to get them out of the town first. I'll head out first by rooftop, and you take the ground after me. Got it? _Levitation!_"

She was out of the building as soon as the left wall crashed in, and Zelgadiss took a dive over the boxes and out the front door. He took two strides and then stopped, since two of the chimeras were there waiting for him, and the one that had taken the building down was now behind him. He grinned slyly. "Oh? Lina will be disappointed."

The chimera in front cried out and lashed forward at him, but he dodged the attack and countered by removing one of its appendages with his red sword. Using the chimera for cover, he threw a spell at the other as the third crashed into the first. "_Blam Blazer_!" As he rolled out of the way of impact, he grinned. All three chimera were finally in range. He pressed his hand to the ground, and called out, "Dug--"

"Zel! Look out!"

o o o o o

At first, he regained sensation in his legs, and then it spread to the rest of his body and finally to the rest of his senses. As his vision cleared, he became aware of the person standing before him, and then of the fact that it was Lina, and finally, of the fact that she was severely wounded.

"Lina!" A twinge of pain shot through the left half of his body, and he pressed a hand to his side. "Are you alright?"

"More…_cough_…or less." She had cuts all over her body, and from the looks of it, a broken rib or two. Behind him he found two chimera carcasses. The other two were still on their feet, though one was still blinded by his wound to its eyes. The other, though, seemed to be the one that had gotten the best of Lina, as it was carefully contemplating its next move. Clearly, that one had been the leader all along.

He was distracted when Lina suddenly fell down on one knee. He was immediately at her side. "Lina! Don't move. You're hurt badly."

"It's not as bad as it looks," she protested, though it was clear to him that it actually _was_ as bad as it looked. He reached out to cast a healing spell on her, but then instead slipped an arm around her and dodged the oncoming attack. She coughed again—a disgruntled sputter of a cough—and he faltered a bit, concerned that his movements were hurting her. "Don't worry about me," she told him, "I'll cast my own healing spell. You focus on _that_ thing."

He used his sword to deflect a few attacks, but the troll blood was effectively healing each wound. It was hard to maneuver while carrying Lina around, and the chimera itself was fast. He suddenly felt a soft thud against his chest, and looked down to see her head had fallen against him.

"Lina?"

"Put me down. You can't keep this up forever."

He went silent. After she had saved him—protected him to the point of injury—this was all he could do for her in return? He swallowed a hard lump that had formed in his throat. "But you--"

She pushed him away suddenly and extended her hand. "_Fireball_!"

Zelgadiss glanced over his shoulder to see the chimera go crashing to the ground in flames. Then he felt a hand against the side of his face, and it pulled his eyes to her. He saw ribbons of blood dripping down the side of her face, but despite it, she still did her best to smile at him. It made him feel helpless. "Zel, I'll be fine," she reassured him.

What could he do but obey? Swallowing the feeling of discomfort that squeezed his throat, he lowered her gently to the ground. She groaned a little bit, and he turned his eyes away. He couldn't face her now—not like this.

"Sorry. Looks like you'll have to heal yourself."

She gave him a languid smile. "Since when have I become so helpless to you?"

He glanced down at his hands. The feel of her battered bones was still warm on his fingers. "You haven't," he said. "So take care of yourself."

She closed her eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

He drew his sword and approached the monster. It had begun terrorizing the surroundings, shaking the ground and buildings alike. Its friend had finally regenerated, and was clearly itching for revenge. The antennae on its forehead were wriggling with anticipation. He raised his sword.

"Let's go."

o o o o o

"Oi, Lina! Pull yourself together!"

She stirred a bit. Her body still ached from head to toe, and it refused to move when she told it to. "Can't we stay here just a bit longer?" she pleaded. Her body felt hot—the chimera probably had poison on its claws. Zelgadiss didn't have the same problem. His rock-hard skin couldn't be penetrated.

"It'd be better to rest in the next town over," he said, and she opened her eyes. His bangs were hiding his eyes, and when she looked down, she saw his hand hovering over her wounded ribs. Then there was a soft light in that small space between them, transmitting magical energy from his fingers into her body. Her eyes wandered up his arm back to his face, and he glanced up at her for a second. But then he withdrew back into his shell, and once again there was silence.

"Are there any more?" she asked.

"No. That was the last of them."

A tired sigh escaped her lips. The sky overhead was still beautiful, and the warmth of the sun's rays felt good on her sore body. She giggled. "Hope I'm not missing out on any good food here."

"Let's get moving. You can stand now, right?"

Lina sighed. "Yeah," she answered, and pushed herself up.

He turned his head slightly, but still kept his eyes out of sight. "Let's go."

She sighed again. It felt like the distance between them had been improving lately, but now it felt as though she had just met him again. She remembered the look he had given her that day he had released her, and how he had been so rough with her during their escape. She put a hand over her healed wound and felt the remnants of his magic power. That space between them—though warm and gentle—she wondered if it would ever go away.

* * *

**Author's Note**: As whimsical as the last one, I suppose. I had forgotten that Lina had a high alcohol tolerance (thanks to whomever pointed that out), so forgive my transgression from the series. Thanks for reading, and please do leave your thoughts in a review!


	3. Chapter 3

What Matters Most – Chapter 3

"So tell me what you have been up to for the past three years?"

Zelgadiss turned his head to her, and she raised her eyes to meet his, and then she gave him a charming smile that made him turn away bashfully. "Why are you suddenly curious?" he asked as his eyes wandered for a safer place to look. Her smile had unexpectedly made his heart pound, if only for a brief moment, and he was sure that it showed on his face.

Lina narrowed her eyebrows and frowned a little. "Why are you suddenly acting like a stranger?" She paused. "We _are_ friends, aren't we?"

"Of course," he answered too quickly. The sound of her accompanying footsteps disappeared, and he turned around with a sigh. She stood there with her hands on her hips and her hips angled slightly to the right over her legs. At first, he had been prepared for an outburst, or even a scolding. Though, now it seemed as though he would receive neither, for she suddenly smiled.

"You know what you need?" She raised a finger. "You need an outlet. We should find some bandits to take out some of that frustration. Or we could take a detour for some good food. I happen to know this place--"

"Weren't we in a hurry?" he inquired, breaking her sentence before he could be persuaded.

"Well, yeah, but…" She ran a hand through her hair and scratched her head. "I was thinking that it wouldn't do us any good to charge in there blindly. We have no idea what Ashevine wants and has planned, but since she's holding Gourry and Amelia hostage, we can assume that they'll be fine as long as we haven't arrived yet." Her eyes suddenly turned hard. "I don't like it, but as long as they're still hostages, they will be safe. So we might as well make use of this time that we have."

Zelgadiss raised an eyebrow. Patience was certainly an unfamiliar territory with Lina, especially if someone had the upper hand on her. "And you're fine with that?" he asked.

She laughed a bit. "Well, it was that, and honestly I feel a bit weakened by the poison from that last chimera attack," she explained, dropping her hand. "It'll probably take a day or two for me to really recover my strength."

Her words surprised him, and he stepped towards her. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked as he put a hand on her shoulder. And why hadn't he noticed? Her weakness showed in the complexion of her face—she looked a little pale and worn out, like the energy had been sucked out of her. How long had she been going on like this? Had he really been so absorbed in his own thoughts to not notice those changes for the past two hours?

The sad look in his eyes made Lina feel a little bad about speaking up about her condition, but she didn't think she could drag herself on much farther. So she laughed it off. "Oh gosh, Zel. I'm just a little tired. You don't have to look so concerned." She saw his eyebrows narrow in disbelief and added, "Well, if you're that concerned, you can just treat me to something."

"Lina…"

She pushed his back playfully, goading him along with her request. "Come on, I'm hungry. We can make a little detour."

He had the feeling he wasn't going to get out of this one. "Alright," he answered, a little offset by her behavior. He wondered briefly if he would ever figure her out, and how Gourry had managed to do so with his lack of brains. Perhaps he might not have given the swordsman enough credit.

o o o o o

They had stumbled upon a small farming town not too far away, located in the somewhat mountainous region of the forest, and arrived there late in the afternoon when the sunlight had just begun to turn orange. Though there was no actual restaurant (the area was so small that it had less than twenty people in the population), the people were happy to provide food for them in exchange for other goods Lina had on hand.

"They probably don't see many travelers through this way," Zelgadiss commented as a pair of children curiously pointed at them while passing by.

"Isn't it nice, though?" Lina commented sleepily. "It's been so long since I've stopped at a quiet area like this. And they're not even bothered by your appearance!"

Zelgadiss shifted uncomfortably. "I wouldn't say that." He thought back to how, while Lina was happily bartering goods with the man, the farmer's wife had hurriedly gathered her kids back into the home. Lina hadn't noticed, but afterwards Zelgadiss pulled his hood back over his head. He had always been so conscious of curious eyes. "Well, with a body like mine…"

He felt a soft weight against his arm, and looked down to see Lina's head resting against his shoulder. He blushed. "Lina?" he called, but then he heard the sound of light breathing coming from her, glanced down to see her slightly parted lips, and sighed. As he contemplated what to do about the situation, an old memory crept up on him, and a small smirk played on his lips. _So if Xelloss is Convenient Item Number Four, does that make me Convenient Item Number One, Two, or Three?_

He observed the scenery of the area, noting its subtle curves and soft colors. Lina had been right about this—he couldn't help but feel relaxed in a place like this where everything was so calm. He exhaled slowly, and peered down on the sleeping face of his friend. "Well, this is fine, too," he thought with a small grin. He could let her get away with this for one day. He didn't dare think it could, or would happen again.

o o o o o

When she opened her eyes again, the sky had already turned black with night. Stars were littered across that colorless expanse, and all was quiet except for the quiet sighs of the wind. Lina pressed a hand to the soft grass and pushed herself up. She was looking for Zelgadiss, but he seemed to be nowhere. After taking a moment to recollect her thoughts, she remembered that the last thing she could recall was him saying something about his appearance. Had she fallen asleep while he was talking to her?

While she pondered the thought, footsteps came up from behind her. She spun around and found Zelgadiss standing there, blinking at her as though he were expecting someone else. She raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "What's wrong?"

He put a finger over the length of his lips, a habit he had when he was trying to hide something. "Nothing. I was looking for a place for us to stay."

"And?"

"I can't say the search was successful."

Her chest tightened as she analyzed the look on his face. He was clearly upset—it showed in his hardened eyes, even if she couldn't see the frown he was trying to hide from her. Perhaps he had run into some trouble, or someone had given him the wrong look after seeing his appearance. She wasn't about to allow him to slip back into a brooding mood, however, so she grabbed his arm and said, "Don't worry about it! The ground here is comfortable as is." When he gave her one of those _looks_, she smiled at him cheerily and patted the ground next to her.

He hesitated briefly, then sighed and sat down next to her. "If I were you, I'd probably hate travelling with a monster like me—ow!"

His eyes lifted as the hood fell from his head, forced off by Lina. She was angrily tapping a metal pipe against the palm of her hand (he wondered briefly from what dimension Lina got all her special "tools" for hitting people). As she raised the pipe, he moved to dodge it, but with the slight of her hand she got him from the other side.

"Cut the crap! I'm tired of hearing you bashing on your appearance all the time. So what if people stare?" She caught the pipe in both hands and smiled at him. "And if they have a problem with it, I'll beat them up for you," she added with a wink.

He regarded her for a moment before returning her smile with one of his own. "Geez, you really are--"

His expression suddenly shifted to one of alarm, and he reached out toward her, pulling her down. Lina cringed as she heard the impact behind her, and glanced over her shoulder to see Zelgadiss covering her, and emptiness before them. "Who's there?" she called, scanning the darkness for any sign of movement.

A long period of silence passed, and still there was nothing. Zelgadiss stood from his spot and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. "What do you think?" she asked him. "Is it one of Ashevine's?"

"No," he replied. Another minute passed, and then Zelgadiss's ears twitched to a sound that could only be heard with his heightened senses. He turned to his left and readied an offensive spell. "There! _Flare Arrow_!"

The fire shot from his hands, and then there was a yelp, and a person fell out of the tree. Lina raised her eyebrows in surprise. "What--"

"That hurt!" the person, a young man, shouted. He didn't appear to be a threat—his eyes were not ones of a killer. But there was a definite anger in those green eyes, and it was directed at Zelgadiss. "You're the heartless magic-wielding swordsman, right?"

Zelgadiss raised his chin, looking down upon the boy with a threatening glare in his eyes. "And what of it?"

The young man clenched his fists and teeth at Zelgadiss, and then he was suddenly on his feet and dashing toward the pair of travelers with a dagger in his hand. Zelgadiss smirked. "Fool. Only an enchanted blade could do me harm," he said, but was shocked when the blade managed to nick his arm as he impulsively dodged it at the last moment.

"Zel!" Lina turned a hard look on the boy. "What is the meaning of this?"

He raised his hand slowly, pointing an accusing finger at Zelgadiss. "You," he began, "killed my mother."

The words shocked him, but the look in his eyes indicated that he knew of which memory the boy was talking about. His fingers clenched at his wound more tightly. "I--"

A sudden outburst of laughter interrupted his sentence, and he gazed in disbelief upon Lina as she laughed openly. The boy pointed his dagger at her angrily. "What's so funny?" he demanded to know.

"Oh, just the odds of finding someone way out here who knows of one of us, and that he wants revenge for something Zelgadiss has done." Lina put her hands on her hips and grinned mischievously. "I think this is the first time my reputation has been beaten. My pride has been shot."

The boy scoffed at her. "Who are you? You're just some flat-chested girl."

Zelgadiss, upon noticing the vein that appeared on her forehead, grabbed her shoulder before she could let loose on the unsuspecting boy. "Just so you know, pal, I'm the beautiful sorcery genius Lina Inverse! How dare you call me _just some flat-chested girl_—hey, Zel, let go!"

"When did this incident happen?" Zelgadiss asked, ignoring Lina.

"Seven years ago."

It turned silent. Lina tabulated the years in her head. _That would be a year or two before I met Zelgadiss_…_which means_..._!_

She glanced over her shoulder at her companion and confirmed her suspicions. _That would be the time period where he was still serving Rezo, after he had been turned to a chimera_. The look on his face told the tale. His eyes were cold and withdrawn, and he had the sort of look on his face that could only be summed up as "regret." She had seen him upset and down many times before, but this was the first time she'd seen him really, truly affected by it.

"Well, Zel may be cold and heartless at times, but he is no killer," she said, and noticed out of the corner of her eye how his head lifted ever so slightly. She raised her hand palm up and added with a slight shake of the head, "You must have the wrong guy."

"No," Zelgadiss said in a voice that made Lina's blood go cold. "He's got the right guy." She watched as he pulled down on the front of his cowl, exposing the stones on his neck. He ran a finger laterally across his skin. "Here's the neck you wanted. Make sure you strike correctly, or you won't be able to kill me."

"Zel! You can't be serious!" Lina protested, but he only gave her a chilly stare. She realized that the person in front of her was no longer her Zelgadiss, and that he was once again at the mercy of his nightmares at the hand of Rezo.

The boy ran forward again with an angry cry and lashed out at Zelgadiss's neck. But Zelgadiss stole the dagger from the boy just before it could slash at his neck, and in one swift movement had him pinned to the ground with a foot in his back. Zelgadiss sank the knife into the ground next to the boy's eyes. "You're one hundred years too early to try to take my life. Come back when you've grown stronger—isn't that what I said to you last time?"

There was hatred in the boy's eyes. "Heartless bastard!"

Zelgadiss smirked. Then he removed his foot and walked past Lina, who had been watching everything with her arms folded across her chest. "Let's go," he said, and waved her along. She lingered for a moment to contemplate the boy with his face still pressed against the ground.

"If he were really a killer, you'd be dead right now," she said, "The heartless swordsman you were looking for is no more." There was a pause, and then she added, "I'm sorry you can't have your revenge," giving him something to think about before she ran to catch up with Zelgadiss. In the wind, she thought she could hear the boy crying, and glanced upward with a heavy feeling in her chest before sighing. She looked at her hooded companion, who had returned to his regular self. His eyes were not the eyes of a killer. They were gentle—the eyes of someone who had been abandoned, but still knew how precious life could be.

o o o o o

Though Lina Inverse knew a spell for almost every situation she ever encountered, there were still times when she was at a loss. Here, walking alongside her hooded companion, was one of those times. As she observed the subtle angles of anguish written on his face, she wished there had been something written in those books of lore about cheering people up.

So she pointed up at the sky. "Well, at least it's nice outside today. I wouldn't mind sleeping beneath the stars," she offered, feeling both uncomfortable and awkward when his stony mask didn't waver. She faltered a bit, but then came back with the question, "Hey, how far are we going?"

"You should go back."

Lina dropped her hands, and the bright tone to her voice disappeared. "What do you mean?"

He stopped walking, and so did she. "You should go back. I'll camp out alone."

The statement made her frown. "Oh, okay. I get it," she said, putting a hand on her hip. "Right. I'll go back to town, then."

Zelgadiss could tell that she was clearly not pleased, but he was in no mood to humor her. He waited until he heard the sound of her departing footsteps, and then it was silent. He exhaled a breath of air that he hadn't been aware he was holding, and then he turned up to the sky. _Yeah, at least it's nice outside today_, he noted with a weak smile.

He heard the grass rustle merely a few yards away, and turned in the direction of the noise. There he saw Lina sitting on the ground with her back facing him, leaning against a tree. Her cape was wrapped around her knees, and Zelgadiss noticed for the first time that night that the air was indeed a little chilly. He wasn't sure what to say, so he said, "Oi."

"What?"

He paused, then shrugged. "Nothing." He sank against his own tree and closed his eyes. _If she wants to stay there, then that's fine. I don't really care. I can't really make her go away if she doesn't want to. It's her choice, after all._

Lina rested her forehead in the palm of her hand. The more she thought about how stubborn he was, the more her headache developed. _But more than that_… She sighed. More than his stubbornness, what bothered her was his inability to forgive and accept himself. More than anyone else, the one person she could never please was Zelgadiss. But Amelia was always there for him, so it was okay. _But she's not here now, so it's up to you, Lina._

She swallowed. Gathering her wits about her, she meekly called, "Um, Zel?"

At first there was silence, and she thought that he might either be asleep or ignoring her, but then she heard his voice.

"What is it?"

"Hm," she began, and searched her mind for something to say. But there wasn't anything perfect, so she settled for what she wanted to know. "What are you thinking about?"

He noticed the strange tone to her voice and smirked. _Gourry probably never gives her these problems_. Amused, he answered, "I'll bet that you wish you hadn't teamed up with me now. Gourry would never make you behave this strangely."

"Why are you saying that again?" she asked angrily. "What does Gourry have to do with anything? This is your problem."

"Yeah, this is my problem," he cut in before she could continue. His eyes wandered to the ground, and a small grin formed on his lips. "That's enough, Lina. You don't have to do any more--"

He yelped a bit when she suddenly tugged his ear, pulling it out so his face turned to her. His eyes wandered up to her face. She was clearly very angry—her eyebrows were angled inward, her eyes were steadfast, and her mouth formed a straight line. Normally, he wouldn't have been so intimidated, but this was one of those times that Lina got the best of him. She really looked _that_ pissed, and when Lina was pissed, bad things usually happened.

But instead of beating him, or fireballing him, she just sighed—a very deep sigh—and dropped to her knees slowly. He watched as she lightly brushed her fingers across the dagger wound, and then chanted a healing spell. Then she lifted her eyes and looked at him—a very sad sort of look, like she'd been hurt but was doing the best she could to hide it behind a tender smile—and said, "Zel, it's me, Lina." Her voice tore at him, and he felt something deep within his chest crack. "I'm not Amelia, but I still can't leave you alone if you're like this…"

"Alright, alright," Zelgadiss conceded. "I'll tell you what happened…"

o o o o o

_He was the last to arrive at the town, and by the time he got there, it was already up in flames. Dilgear and his cronies had dealt most of the damage, and they were off at the far end of the town digging out valuables and treasure from the rubble. Rodimus and Zolf were also likely somewhere in the chaos. This was the fourth town they had devastated, and many were beginning to regard his name in fear._

_ Zelgadiss eyed the dead bodies of men and women on the ground in distaste and clenched his fist. "You've gone too far, Rezo," he growled._

_ Something wrapped around his ankle then, and he glanced down to see the hand of a woman. She was lying on her stomach, and blood stained her shirt on the left side of her waist. Zelgadiss kneeled down next to her and pressed a hand to her wound, inspecting it. "Hold on," he said, "I'll heal you right now."_

_ The sound of her weak laughter entered his ears, and he looked at her face. "No need," she said. "I was already a dying woman before this. Save your energy."_

_ Something heavy settled on his heart, and he had to turn his eyes away from her. They had been sent there to 'clean up' after one of Rezo's failed experiments. He hadn't elaborated on exactly what it was. "Was it the Red Priest?" he asked, voice deep._

_ She smiled weakly at him, and he saw a tear slip down the side of her face. "Please, kind stranger. My son_..._save him."_

_ It was then that he noticed a small boy at the window of the house, cowering behind it in fear as he watched his mother's life fade away. He disappeared from view as Zelgadiss gently laid the woman down atop the ground to rest, and then there was a cry as the young boy dashed forward, dagger in hand, vengeance pouring tears from his eyes. Zelgadiss held his arms out and allowed the boy to strike, but the dagger flew from his hand upon collision, and Zelgadiss wrapped his cloak around the boy, hiding him from view._

_ "Monster!"_

_ His blue eyes softened as the boy cried. "Yes," he replied. "Yes, I am. So hate me and grow stronger. Grow stronger, so that you may come back and take your revenge on the monster who took your life away_…_"_

_o o o o o_

Zelgadiss paused and glanced over at Lina, who was wrapped in her cloak and staring at the ground in thought. By the look on her face, she wasn't happy with what he had said. He turned away from her—her silence made him feel miserable. "Do you see now, Lina? I'm actually the heartless monster he said I was. I'm not someone worth worrying about."

She suddenly hit him, and the impact was enough to knock him off balance. He fell backward and caught himself with his hands, but then she followed after him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pressing her cheek against his collarbone as she sank into his chest, and without thinking he caught her in his arms as his back hit the ground. He turned his head slightly towards her in wonder and said her name, "Lina?"

"…still human."

He blinked. "Wha--"

"You're still human, Zel."

And the words worked like a spell, undoing the thick, dark net that trapped his heart. He felt it pound, like it had been woken from a long sleep and was just beginning to beat again. The blood warmed his veins, and the last of winter in his heart melted away. He felt the tightness in his chest weaken its grip on him. Was there really someone who did not see him as a monster—who, despite knowing the destruction he caused and the lives he took, still felt the kindness he had tried so hard to suppress?

Never, in all his years alone, would he ever have wished for such a blessing.

Zelgadiss suddenly became aware of the compromising position they were in, and he immediately plucked his hands from her. But upon further inspection, he realized that she had fallen asleep, and slapped a hand to his forehead quietly as he rested his head back against the ground. "Don't kill me for this in the morning," he muttered, but then lowered his finger to his lips to hide the smile that was emerging there. With his other hand he pulled his cape around her back and hugged her lightly.

Then he whispered, so as not to wake her, "Thank you, Lina."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Yay ZL fluff :D. Hope you guys enjoyed it!


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note**: I'm on a quest to save this dying fandom! OT3 support!

* * *

What Matters Most – Chapter Four

_ "Argh!"_

_ "Did you think I would not notice? I may be blind, but I can surely see much more than you think."_

_ He felt the weight of the priest's staff jab into his throat, lifting his head as it simultaneously choked him. The faint chimes of the staff entered his ears, the sound muddled by the ringing that deafened him. He raised a weary eye and looked with fury upon the man he swore vengeance upon, but at whose mercy he now was. He regarded his helplessness with bitter contempt._

_ The wicked smile on the priest's face enraged Zelgadiss. He wished he could reach up and tear it off the man's face—imagine the pleasure it would give him to do so! But that was such an evil desire, and surely not one that he, as a human, should feel comfortable having._

_ "Come now, Zelgadiss. Did you think that, by letting the child go, you would win forgiveness for the chaos you have wrought upon his home?" Rezo asked, grinning madly. "Why try so hard to cling to the kindness in your heart, when people do naught but shun you?"_

_ Zelgadiss's eyes narrowed dangerously at the priest. "At least I am a monster in appearance only," he spat._

_ Rezo chuckled, then leaned his head back and laughed odiously. It was such a cruel sound that even Dilgear turned his head, curious to know what had tickled the humor of the priest. Then he removed his staff from beneath Zelgadiss's chin and brought it against the ground, and the chimes rang eerily in the dark, stuffy air._

_ Then the red priest said, "So you may say now, but in the future you will come to realize the inadequacy of your ideals, and then you will be like me, a monster with only one desire_…"

o o o o o

His eyes suddenly flew open, though they immediately sought refuge behind his eyelids once they had a glimpse of the sunlight filtering through the net of branches and leaves overhead. He raised a hand over his face, and in the shadow of it, saw the evidence of his never-ending nightmares etched into the stone of his hand. He lowered his hand to his eyes, blocking out the sight he never wanted to see, pretending as though the dream had just been another dream.

"Zel?"

His ears perked at the sound of her voice, and he glanced over to see Lina watching him, a concerned look on her face. "What's wrong?" she asked.

His eyes wavered, then dodged left. "Nothing," he replied. "It's nothing."

She frowned. "Well it doesn't _look_ like nothing to me." When he didn't respond, she asked, "Are you hungry?"

"I'll be fine," he answered.

"Oh. Is that so?" she replied, though it was a comment more to fill the silence than to actually lead the conversation anywhere. As she undid the knot on the bundle of food she bought from the locals and began to eat, Zelgadiss continued to brood. She watched him quietly for a while and felt her appetite weakening, but as she was about to speak up they suddenly had a group of uninvited visitors.

"Are you Lina Inverse and Zelgadiss Greywords?"

She swallowed. Then with a haughty grin, she answered, "And if we are?"

The man with the scruffy beard and a patch over his left eye drew his sword from his belt (though it was more like he detached it from his belt since there was no actual sheath for his machete). "We are the Viper Fangs, and we are here to claim your heads for the cash reward."

She blinked at him while Zelgadiss rolled his eyes. They repeated the words 'cash reward' in unison, though the former repeated it in the form of a question while the latter repeated it in the form of an exasperated sigh. Then they turned to each other and exchanged looks.

"A famous sorceress is offering a large sum for your lives—dead or alive," the bandit said with a gleam to his eye. "So if you would just hand yourselves over, we can negotiate the terms--"

"_Mega Brand!"_

The area around the man suddenly burst up around him, and he went flying off into the trees along with his men. One had managed to evade the blast, but he was in no condition to stand up and fight. When she grinned maliciously at him, a wet stain appeared in the crotch of his pants, and he took off running into the forest. Zelgadiss rose to his feet and shook the dust off his cloak before moving to Lina's side. "So now we have a bounty on our heads, too?" he asked.

"Seems that way," she answered. "That'll make moving around a little more difficult. And it looks like Ashevine is getting impatient with our detours."

He glanced down to see her tuck her chin into the crest of her thumb and forefinger, and then she closed her eyes to think. He looked in the direction the bandit had run off in. "If we hadn't let him go, we could have interrogated him for a lead. Should I chase after him?"

"No need," Lina replied, opening her eyes again. She reached her hands behind her head and stretched, elongating her body before she sank back into her feet. Then she turned to Zelgadiss and smiled at him. "They were bandits, but they weren't dressed like your usual run-of-the-mill bandits. They looked more like the seafaring kind, and I bet that's where we need to go."

His eyes warmed in understanding. "Port Larkshaart, then?"

She tapped him on the shoulder with her fist. "Now we're talking. It's nice that you don't have jellyfish for brains."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Did I ever?"

"No," she replied. "Just stone-hard sometimes," she added, and stuck her tongue out playfully at him when he gave her a peeved look. "Let's go! My stomach can't wait!"  
He rolled his eyes. "What does this have to do with your stomach?" he mumbled, and followed after her pace.

o o o o o

"So remind me again why we've stopped here for lunch."

"Because this place has the best seafood hot pot you can get around this region!" Lina replied giddily between bites. When Zelgadiss shot her a look over the rim of his coffee cup, she added, "Besides, the boat doesn't even get here until later, so we won't be leaving until sunset."

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. "You would think that we'd be acting a little more cautiously, considering--"

"Lina Inverse! Surrender now and we will spare your life!" shouted a man from the doorway.

Zelgadiss raised his hand to hide the smirk that appeared on his face as the bandit was instantly fireballed to a pile of steaming ashes. "Well, if you put it that way…"

She followed several mouthfuls of food with a swig of water. "I'm telling you, you worry too much. Just take it easy for a bit, will ya?" She retrieved a piece of fish from the pot and held it out to him. "Here, you should give it a try. It's delicious."

Zelgadiss gently pushed her hand to the side. "No--" he began, but then she slipped the piece of fish into his mouth and grinned at him. He chewed on it warily at first, then swallowed. "It's good. Really tender, and it melts on the tongue," he said.

"Isn't it?" she followed. "But too bad, I'm not sharing any more."

"I'm not Gourry. You won't even notice when it's gone."

"Nope. Don't even think about—hey!"

He'd used his demon speed to snatch a piece of octopus from the pot and was happily munching away on it as he found amusement in her distress. "I was saving that!" she complained, and reached out to steal his chopsticks away. He managed to avoid her prying hands, so she resorted to something else—taking his coffee cup hostage.

"Now, Lina…" he began carefully. "Let's not be rash."

She '_hmphed'_ at him and put the cup to her lips, downing the dark brown liquid in one big gulp. Zelgadiss felt something inside of him sink until he saw the distaste on her face, and she stuck out her tongue with a small '_yuck_.' Then she said, "How do you drink it like this? If you're gonna have it black, at least have it while it's still warm."

He shrugged. She sighed. "I guess if I ever became as addicted as you, I'd drink it no matter what, too," she mused aloud, and her eyes rolled upward towards the ceiling.

He chuckled at her. "I'm glad you understand me so well."

"Great. At least _you're_ happy. You owe me a stick of takoyaki. I saw a stand along the port on our way here."

He sweatdropped at her. "Really? You were scoping out the food options there, too?"

She winked. "I am Lina Inverse, after all."

o o o o o

The pair of adventurers walked along the port, checking out the shops and keeping a lookout for signs advertising their reward money (they had torn down a total of four since entering town). Luckily, it seemed like Ashevine hadn't gone out of her way to make them extremely well-known, since most of the folk passed by them without a second glance. It had probably been a small nudge—good enough to get the message across but not enough to hinder their progress.

Lina held two sticks of takoyaki in her left hand and was munching away on the one in her right. Zelgadiss had one of his own, too, and was plucking each sphere off individually before consuming it in two bites. As they approached the other end of the harbor, the sound of music reached them. Lina looked over and saw a band playing songs while the townspeople tapped their feet joyously along to the tunes. A few couples were dancing to the beat, twirling and laughing as they danced swiftly, stumbled over one another, and picked up their feet for another round of fun.

Zelgadiss caught her look of interest and commented, "I didn't think you'd be interested in that sort of thing."

She laughed nervously at him and spun around. "Oh no, I'm not actually interested. We were just at the end of the port and the only other thing to do was turn around--"

"Miss!"

Lina felt a small tug at the end of her shirt and glanced down to see a small girl standing there looking up at her. She had short brown hair and large, beautiful green eyes. "Will you come dance with me?" the girl asked.

Lina blinked at her, then crouched down and offered a hesitant smile. "Can't you dance alone?" she asked. When the girl shook her head, she offered, "Or maybe with my friend, here…?"

The girl glanced over at Zelgadiss, who was shocked by her eyes and averted his gaze. She didn't seem convinced. "He looks kind of scary, miss."

Lina saw Zelgadiss turn away slightly and quickly said, "Yeah, he might _look_ like the cruel sort of guy who would steal the last piece of octopus you were saving to eat." She paused and laughed a little inwardly when she saw his shoulders stiffen in irritation. "But he's really not all that bad. Trust me!" she said, and winked at the girl. Then she walked her over to where Zelgadiss stood, took his hand, and gave the girl to him.

He looked bewildered. "O-oi!"

She stuck her tongue out at him with a small wave and wink. "The girl needs a dance partner. You won't let her down, will you Zel?"

He shot her a quick glare, then knelt down and met the girl's eyes. Lina saw his eyes soften, and she grinned. "What's your name?" he asked.

The girl, suddenly bereft of the fear she had for him earlier, chirped, "Kira!"

"Then, Kira," he began, lowering his head, "would you do me the honor?"

The girl laughed and tugged him along, leading him to where everyone else was skipping and twirling around one another. He fell into pace a lot more quickly than Lina would have anticipated, and in a matter of minutes he was dancing like any of the other townsfolk. Lina raised a hand to her chin in wonder. "Well, what do you know," she murmured, regarding him with a smile stuck to her face. _And to think, just yesterday, he_…

His eyes wandered over in her direction then, and they made contact for a moment. Lina stiffened and felt her cheeks grow warm, but then Kira saved her from embarrassment by pulling Zelgadiss in the opposite direction. Lina raised her hand over her face to protect herself from any onlookers. The memory of last night—particularly how she had so boldly thrown herself into his arms—was suddenly very vivid in her mind. _Why did I…? But, he just seemed so torn_… Her eyes settled shyly on his figure, and she watched as he smiled warmly at the little girl and thanked her for the dance. Lina pressed a hand to her cheek. It was definitely still a little warm.

_ He seems_..._different somehow._ _Not unlike the Zelgadiss I knew three years ago, but_…

Suddenly she was aware of many pairs of eyes being on her, and she looked up in shock. The little girl was eagerly waving her over, and the rest of the townsfolk were also waiting for her to do something. Her eyes wandered over to Zelgadiss for help, but he had his eyes slightly hidden from her. _No, don't tell me_…

The band started playing again, and she stiffened. The girl cupped her hands around her small mouth and shouted, "Come dance, miss!"

She didn't move as the rest of the villagers stepped forward to different dance partners and began dancing once more. Looking to Zelgadiss for help, she felt confused when he suddenly raised his head and jogged over to her. Then he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the circle.

"W-wait, Zel?"

He turned his face to her and smiled, and Lina felt her heartbeat suddenly accelerate. "Weren't you the one who said we had time to spare?" he asked. Then she was swept into the rhythm of the music, awkwardly stumbling around him and other people as she did her best to keep up. The steps had looked easy enough from the sidelines, especially when Kira was doing them, but now that she was in the middle of the chaos she was having trouble keeping up.

When she returned to having Zelgadiss as her dance partner, her face was at least five different shades of red. She pressed her face into his chest, stuffing her blush into the folds of his cloak. "I'm so embarrassed I could die," she muttered.

He rested a hand on top of her head. "I was getting back at you for the comment you made earlier. Something about stealing your octopus."

"Don't forget the part about being a _cruel_ guy."

"Don't forget that I bought you _three_ sticks of takoyaki."

She pulled her head out of his cloak and made a face at him, but he just laughed and hid his smile behind his index finger. She made a discontented face at him. "Why do you do that?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"That!" she said, and moved his hand. "Why do you hide your smiles all the time? Geez, Zel, if you'd have shown me this side of yourself sooner, I would've--"

She paused, and her face flushed. _What embarrassing things am I spurting out now?_ She shrank underneath his gaze, which was both surprised and curious at the same time.

"Lina?"

She pushed away from him then and put a few steps between them. "I, uh," she began, searching for words to say. "I lost track of what I was saying, so just pretend I didn't say anything," she said hastily, and fiddled with her fingers. _Please don't pry into it_…

He was about to say something when they heard the announcement, "The boat to Tefarus has arrived! All aboard for Tefarus!"

She clapped her hands together. "Just in time!" she exclaimed. "Let's get going!"

He watched her as she ran for the boat. Something had tightened in his throat, and his feet refused to move at first. But then he swallowed, and he could no longer feel his heart trying to pound its way out of his chest. He closed his eyes, and by sheer force of will compelled his feet to move forward.

He sighed and wondered if he would ever find out what it was Lina was trying to say.

o o o o o

He'd given her some time alone before he approached her again, and he still felt unsure about doing so. She seemed lost in thought, staring out at the horizon the way she was with the setting sun rendering her eyes ablaze. He walked up next to her and leaned against the railing of the boat. He wanted to ask what she had been thinking about so seriously, but instead opted to ask a lighter question, "What do you plan to do after we land?"

She seemed a bit startled to see him there and jumped a bit at the sound of his voice, but upon turning her eyes to him she calmed. "We'll see," she said, and leaned against the railing to look out over the sea again. She'd seen the colors of dusk reflected in his eyes, giving them a mysterious hue. There had been the desire to stare, but she had turned it down before it could take her over.

He was thinking of what to say next when she suddenly chirped up. "Hey Zel!" she exclaimed, turning to him. "Do you remember that time we went to the temple of marriage in the outer continent, and that Jillas actually managed to deceive us?"

Zelgadiss took a second to think it over. "Yeah I do. Why?"

"Did you ever wish it had turned out differently?" _That you had paired up with Amelia, maybe?_ Lina wasn't sure exactly why she was bringing this back up. Though she, too, had been disappointed by the couplings, she couldn't really have complained, either. It was much easier on her to be paired up with Zelgadiss then, than had she been paired up with Gourry. She didn't have the confidence to walk up that long hill with her hand in Gourry's arm at the time. And she felt comfortable walking alongside Zelgadiss. _Definitely not like Xelloss and Filia_, she thought with a wry smile.

Zelgadiss sighed. "Maybe if I had been paired with Filia…" he murmured, and kept an eye on Lina to see her reaction. Indeed, she whirled around at him, absolutely bewildered and a little revolted by his statement. He threw up a hand. "Wait, it was a joke," he explained stoically, though he was laughing on the inside. _And it was a way to avoid a sticky answer_.

Lina sighed, a little too heavily for Zelgadiss's comfort. The amusement faded. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," she answered, and put her chin in the palm of her hand as she leaned her elbow against the ship's wooden rail. What had she been expecting him to say? It was a dead end kind of question to ask to begin with. She'd been playing her cards unfairly, and in a manipulative way. It kind of disgusted her, since it reminded her of how Xelloss always managed to string her along in a similar manner. She didn't want to think she had anything in common with him.

Zelgadiss turned around and leaned his back against the railing. Lina glanced at him from the side and saw that his arms were folded, as well. Then she realized that he was staring at her in the patient sort of way, and she blinked at him. "What?"

"You know, Lina. I don't want this to be one-sided."

Her eyes bugged out. "W-what are you talking about?"

"We've been discussing my problems for the past couple of days," he said, and she felt her soul pass through the air. As she reeled it back in, he continued, "But…" _How do I say this_… He lifted his finger to conceal his mouth and his eyes moved shyly away. "You never leave me alone, so I…I, too…"

Her hand reached for his and pulled it away from his face. He turned his eyes to her, and she stared at them, noting the slightly golden hue it gave his usually crystalline blue eyes, turning them into aquamarine. She saw how his eyes looked at hers, how they scurried from right to left, searching her for some semblance of communication. But she was going to beat him this time at his own game, and he would finally see what it felt like every time she tried to piece together his thoughts, too.

"Well, I see this is the least opportune moment for my interruption."

Lina and Zelgadiss stepped away from each other and turned towards the source of the voice. A twitch ran up Lina's body, and then she stepped back into a defensive position. She clenched her teeth angrily at the unwanted visitor, and said, "Ashevine!"

Zelgadiss glanced at Lina, surprised. Then he turned his eyes to the sorceress before them. "So this is the Crimson sorceress?" he asked. True to her name, she had deep crimson-stained hair that fell just short of her shoulders and framed her face. She wore a sorceress ensemble in the colors of dark green, sea green, and gold, with a light blue muffler draped around her slender shoulders. Her eyes matched the dark green of her clothes, and a small mole showed just beneath her left eye.

It was this mole that her index finger touched when she raised her finger and winked at them. "Pleased to meet you, Zelgadiss Greywords. And Lina, it's been so long."

Zelgadisss noticed Lina's expression turn slightly more aggressive. "I hear your research has been a success recently," Lina commented. Her fang showed when she spoke, indicating her irritated stance.

Ashevine waved her hand in the air and shook her head. "Success is relative. To the guild and everyone else, I have been successful. But to me…well, let's say that I'm still far from my goal."

"Your goal?" Lina asked.

Ashevine smiled secretively at Lina, then turned her attention to Zelgadiss. "My, my. The Red Priest certainly knows how to make a strong chimera."Zelgadiss narrowed his eyes at her, and she threw her hands up defensively. "Oh, no. I'm not trying to offend you. Actually, I would have considered that a compliment."

"Cut the crap. You've done your research on us, or else you wouldn't have struck at Gourry and Amelia," he said, and tightened his fist.

She giggled. "That is true. But nonetheless, I still consider it a compliment. After all, wasn't it strength you were after in the first place?"

The statement put signs of fury in his eyes, and Lina stepped in to stop him. "Okay Ashevine. You're here, which means that you have something to tell us, right?"

"Oh! You're absolutely right, Lina. I just have a small favor to ask, and since it's on the way, I thought it wouldn't be a problem."

Lina raised a skeptical eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Would you mind retrieving Shian's Orb for me while you're in Tefarus?"

"Shian's Orb?" Zelgadiss repeated, and Lina looked to him for explanation. He caught her glance, and continued, "Supposedly, it had originally belonged to the dragons, and was condensed from the Air Dragon King's energy. But since then it has been lost, buried under centuries of time and change." He turned to Ashevine. "Why would you want something like that now?"

She raised her finger at him. "Ah, but you're missing the other half of the story. It _was_ one of the dragon's artifacts, but since then has fallen into the hands of the mazoku. Somehow, the orb ended up absorbing the mazoku race's dark energy by attracting lower mazoku, so now I'd say it was tainted with dark energy."

"Wait, but wouldn't that mean that both the ryuuzoku's power and the mazoku's power exist simultaneously inside of that orb?" Lina asked. _If my intuition is correct, then that would be similar to the light-dark fusion we tried against Dark Star!_

Ashevine grinned. "Bravo. You catch on quickly, Lina." She readjusted her muffler and flipped her hair. "Well, that's all I have to say. Until next time."

"Wait!" Lina called as one of Ashevine's chimeras descended from the sky to pick her up. "And why should we do this? What's to keep us from just running away?"

Ashevine blinked at her. "Well, naturally that would be because the lives of your friends are at my mercy, wouldn't it? They would make lovely chimeras, like your friend there," she said, nodding a head at the angry Zelgadiss. "Now, I'm very busy and have to get back to my lab. See you there!"

Zelgadiss stepped forward with a spell in hand. "As if we will let you escape! _Bom di Wind!_"

The air shot from his hand, but was quickly dispelled by a strong flap of the chimera's wings. Lina and Zelgadiss dropped to the deck to avoid the recoiling winds, while a man emerged from within the boat to ask, "Are you all okay?"

Lina and Zelgadiss watched quietly as the chimera soared off into the sky, carrying Ashevine along with it. As she disappeared in the direction of the land, Lina put her hands on her hips and sighed. "First that, and now _this_? And we haven't even figured out where her lab is, either!"

"No," he said with a small smirk, "but I did get a directional reading based on the flight path of her chimera."

She blinked at him as he pulled out his telescope and map. "Wow. I guess this cartography stuff really is useful, after all," she commented as he drew some lines on the map.

"Yeah. Maybe if you ask nicely I'll teach you how to do it," he suggested.

She beamed at him. "That won't be necessary," she said, and when he gave her a curious look she patted him confidently on the back. "Keep at it, Convenient Item Number Two!"

Had he not been carefully lining up his measurements, he would have facefaulted. Instead, he settled for a mere sweatdrop. _Oh well_. At least now he had the answer to his question from before, and he knew where he ranked, among the others.

* * *

**Author's Note**: I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope it was fun to read :). As always, I'd be a happy person to receive any thoughts on the fic, so click that little button below and review!


	5. Chapter 5

Me: Long hiatus. Hi everyone!

* * *

What Matters Most – Chapter Five

When the boat finally reached Tefarus, it was already starting to reach into the later hours of the night. Lina had sleepily dragged her weight off the boat and into town, only to find that most of the inns were booked up for the night. When she had asked why, one of the innkeepers explained that the town was busy with preparations for the moon viewing festival.

"It's a time where everyone gathers on the coast to eat and see the moon. Isn't that why you're here?" he asked.

"Well…no, not exactly," Lina replied after seeing Zelgadiss's stern look. He had probably caught the twitch of her ears at the mention of food. "Can you tell us where there might be a room still available?"

The innkeeper gave her directions to another place a few blocks down the road and said that would probably be her best bet. She thanked him for his help and left with Zelgadiss, followed the directions she had gotten, and walked into that inn.

The innkeeper, a beautiful woman with long, blonde hair, regarded them as they came through the door. She adjusted the spectacles that rested on her nose to get a better look at her visitors, then removed the lenses entirely as they approached. "May I help you?" she asked, addressing the question directly at Zelgadiss.

Lina was about to speak, but Zelgadiss was quick on the uptake. "We need two rooms, please."

She turned to him and stared at his face, shocked by the sudden enthusiasm and friendliness in his voice. Her eyes travelled from his to the woman's, then down the length of her body. _Is this the type he's interested in?_ She cast a glance at Zelgadiss again, and felt a _little_ irritated that his eyes were glued to the woman in front of him, though she knew he could see her in his peripheral vision. Her self-confidence took a small hit, and she mentally knocked him over the head with her fist (and effectively, too).

"Let's see," the woman said, checking the rows of keys below the desk. "It looks like I only have one room left. Is that still alright?"

Lina was about to decline, but again Zelgadiss beat her to the chase. "That's fine," he began, and turned to a very bewildered Lina. "For you. I can keep checking around town for another place."

"What! _No_, thank you. We'll go somewhere else-"

"Well," the innkeeper interrupted, folding an arm across her chest and resting her chin in the palm of her other hand as she observed the two amusedly. "If you don't mind, _my_ room is always available for you to use," she said to Zelgadiss, who now seemed a little disconcerted.

Lina quickly interjected, "That's quite alright, _ma'am_." She grappled Zelgadiss's head with one arm as she held the other out for the room keys. A subtle grin appeared on the woman's lips as she handed the keys over to Lina. "Thank you," Lina said, shooting the woman a subtle glare as she dragged Zelgadiss alongside her, gripping him tightly in a headlock for good measure. As they headed up the stairs, the innkeeper _tee-hee'd_ quietly into the back of her hand and slipped her glasses back onto her face as she toyed with the other remaining key on the rack.

o

"Lina, listen to me!" Zelgadiss choked out as she loosened her grip on his neck.

She kicked the door close as they entered the room. Then she let go of Zelgadiss. Crossing her arms and assuming her peeved pose, she exclaimed in an angry whisper, "I can't believe you were buying into _that_!"

He rubbed his throat and coughed. Then he raised his eyes to her and said, "That was Bram. I met him sometime in the past three years."

"Ah, sure you did—_HIM_?"

He sighed and cleared his throat. "So I was trying to tell you," he said, ignoring the extreme response she just had. When he saw that she still had her arms up and eyes wide in disbelief, he quickly added, "And _no_, I did not _do_ him."

She lowered her arms and held a hand to her chest as she breathed a sigh of relief. "Gee, Zel. For a second there I thought—I mean, there was Miwan, too—and then…" She caught the dangerous look in his eye and laughed.

A knock came from the door then, and from the other side came Bram's sweet voice. "Zelgadiss, hun, would you care for something to drink? I brought some of your favorite-"

Zelgadiss had opened the door, taken the small bottle with a quick 'thanks,' and shut their visitor out. Lina regarded him with a raised eyebrow. He rolled his eyes. "Don't ask," he said, sitting down on the floor next to her. She lowered herself to the ground, slowly, and observed as he opened the bottle.

"Scairaden wine?" she said, reading the label on the bottle. "That's your favorite? …I guess I could have seen that," she commented, pressing the 'V' of her forefinger and thumb to her chin in thought. She noticed how there were only two glasses with the drink and blinked. Then her eyes sobered in understanding. _That Bram is sly_, she thought, and curled her mouth into a dissatisfied frown at the thought of playing perfectly into the man's hands. He had even managed to get them both in the room alone, that clever little devil.

Zelgadiss held the first glass out to her. She looked at it, then at him. His eyes looked a little…disheartened? "Drink carefully," he warned her. _No, apparently it was worry_, she thought, and made a face at him as she took the glass.

"It only affects me if I drink too quickly," she explained, feeling a little like she was being scolded. "At a regular pace my tolerance is endless."

"If you say so," he replied as he poured his own glass. She watched as he tipped it back and sipped a little of the golden goodness, then did the same with her own.

"This is really good," she said, savoring the perfect degree of dryness as she swirled the liquor in her glass. "Where did he get this from?"

"Bram has a lot of these in his stash," Zelgadiss explained. "I had some the last time I was around—why are you looking at me like that? I told you it wasn't like that."

She laughed at him. "Sure. Then what _is_ it like, Zel?"

He unconsciously backed off when she gave him that teasing look. "Do I really have to explain?" he asked.

"But Zel-bunny-chan," she pleaded, using the pet name she gave him so long ago.

His cheeks turned pink, and he hid behind his glass as he took another, extended sip. "Fine. But stop the cute act. It's ridiculous." He saw her stick her tongue out at him, and he turned his face away to hide the intensity of his blush. When he felt he had calmed down a bit, he started, "So a while ago I had been doing some mercenary work that brought me to Mt. Verag, just east of here. To make a long story short, I messed up, and Bram was the one who found me."

"Found you? So you were hurt, then?"

"Yeah," he paused and looked down at his glass. "And, ironically, Bram was the guy I was supposed to find, though I didn't know it was him at the time—with his appearance and all."

"Did you like waking up in the arms of a beautiful woman?" Lina joked. Zelgadiss only shot her a dirty look in response before continuing his story.

"So you can guess what happened. We talked some over those few days, and in the end I found out that he was actually the one I had been sent to find."

"What did you do then?" Lina asked.

He shrugged. "What else could I do? I never completed the contract. It turns out Bram had known who I was all along, and looked after me anyway. We became…acquaintances."

Lina blinked at the odd word choice. "Acquaintances?"

He made eye contact with her, and she felt her spine do something funny. Then, with a softer voice, he said, "I wouldn't exactly call us friends."

Lina suddenly stood up, tipping over the glass of wine she left on the ground. "I-I'm going to find a towel," she stammered, trying to fight the red hue that took over the tips of her ears. _I wouldn't exactly call us friends_… She knew the words weren't about her, but the way he looked at her made her mind all confused. She could feel her heart pounding between her ears as she walked towards the door, and she wondered briefly if it was also the fault of the alcohol.

Zelgadiss watched quietly as she left the room. As the door shut behind her, he leaned his chin into the palm of his hand. He drank the rest of his glass, then set it down next to where Lina's had been. He considered the bottle for a moment, but decided to leave it as it was. Then he stood up, pulled the hood over his head, and slipped off into the brisk night through the windows.

o

Lina wandered the evening streets of Tefarus with her arms folded across her chest and her head bowed in thought. She was a little tempted to go out and find some bandits to clear her head (read: release her heavy frustrations with being embarrassed) on, but then she remembered the last time she had done something similar. _That was when I was looking for information on the Claire Bible_…_for Zel_.

She stopped. How odd it seemed now, that so many of her actions had always revolved around him without her ever noticing. Maybe she had really been thinking of him all this time. _Okay, Lina, stop that_…_you're definitely doing something wrong to your friends_…

Friends?

Her hand went to her mouth as she suddenly remembered why they were on this quest in the first place. _Gourry!_ The thought of missing him created an empty cavity out of her heart, like missing a piece of who she was. And certainly, Amelia was also waiting for Zelgadiss to save her. She clenched her teeth. How could she be such a fool—to be so easily swayed by a moment's confusion?

"Oi!"

Her head whirled towards him in response to the touch on her shoulder. Zelgadiss stood there, staring at her with worry staining his eyes, hand slowly pulling the hood down from over his head. Her eyes were also wide and frozen on him, but then they quickly warmed. She put a hand over his and replied, "I'm alright," as she removed his hand from her shoulder.

He still seemed a little uneasy as he spoke. "You don't look well."

"It's nothing," she replied.

The feel of something at her fingertips caught her attention. She looked down and saw that their hands were still connected, wrapped lightly around each other—both hers and his. The sound of waves crashing gently against the wooden planks below them filled her ears, along with the breath of the wind that lifted his cloak gently off the ground, creating subtle waves in its ivory fabric. She felt the cool warmth of his hand through her gloves—felt his fingers brushing across hers as their hands fell away from each other. Before her eyes, the light of the moon softened the angles of his face and played tricks on her mind. Then he parted his lips and spoke.

"Lina, we need to talk."

She searched his eyes. "About what?"

She saw him suck in a breath of air then and raise his hand to his lips. Then he lowered it and said, "It's about Shian's Orb. I was thinking about what Ashevine said—about it absorbing energy from lower mazoku…Lina?"

"Huh?" she answered, startled that she suddenly remembered how to breathe, and a little disappointed. What had she been expecting him to say? What would _she_ have said?

He frowned. "Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should head back to the inn-"

"Yeah," she replied as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She mentally cursed the light of the moon, shining so obnoxiously bright on this night. "That might be a good idea." _It'll give me a chance to clear my head_, she thought. She wondered whether it would be wise to ask where he was planning to spend the night, and blushed a little at the thought of sharing a room.

And as if to answer her question, he said, "Good night, Lina. Sleep well."

She smiled at him, as best as she could. "Good night, Zel."

And the two parted ways. He stood in place for quite some time, looking after his female companion and unconsciously leaning over his feet in her direction. But then he corrected himself and turned away, departing for a different direction.

o

The next morning came with a pleasant sunrise, one that Lina found herself watching from the comfort of her bed. She hadn't slept much last night, and when she did eventually get some rest, she had a dream about the one person she was trying so hard not to think about. It was as though her mind wouldn't allow her any respite so long as the conflict within her heart remained unsettled, and now she was simply in denial.

A gleam of light blinded her, and she covered her eyes with a hand as she contemplated the probability of getting any more sleep. Then she sat up, rubbed her eyes, and scratched her head as she got up and went to get changed. As she passed by the wine glasses left over from the night before, she did her best not to let her mind wander.

She slipped out of her pajamas and into her regular outfit and thought about their next plan of action. _Zel mentioned something about the Circle of Ferre_, she thought, and paused. "The Circle of Ferre? Isn't that rumored to be the place where the former Ceiphied knight fell?"

Lina contemplated the connection in her mind, but it was clear that she would have to consult the lore in order to get more definite answers. She wondered briefly if she should attempt to find Zelgadiss before heading out, but figured he would show up sooner or later (she hoped for the latter, as she wasn't sure how to react when she finally did see him again). They always ended up meeting again, after all.

o

_Lina must be having a ball_, Zelgadiss thought to himself as he wandered around town. The town was in euphoric spirits for the moon viewing festival. Every street and every corner was littered with people gathered at stalls of food. There was music and dancing, and snake enchanters and fire breathers. There were also magicians, performing only the basics of sorcery to entertain the masses. Zelgadiss pulled his hood over his head, feeling a little ashamed of his appearance amidst the crowd.

"Sir! What are you supposed to be? Rock man?"

He looked down at the child tugging at his hand. The blond boy's cheerful face looked inquisitively at Zelgadiss. "Are you not afraid?" Zelgadiss asked.

"No way. Your costume isn't scary at all," the boy answered. As he ran off, he added, "Get a better one for next year!"

Zelgadiss blinked at the boy and glanced around. No one seemed particularly interested or bothered by his appearance. He saw others dressed in costume as well, some even going so far as painting their faces in magnificent colors and molding them into different shapes. Amongst them, he hardly felt out of place at all.

He put a hand over his hood and slowly pulled it down. _I guess this isn't really necessary_.

At least, for a day, he would be normal. _Normal?_

Would he ever really be normal again?

"Takoyaki! Takoyaki for sale!"

He turned toward the young adolescent selling takoyaki sticks and immediately thought of Lina. She might feel better if he bought her some takoyaki, and he still had to tell her what he had realized about the Circle of Ferre. He pulled out the spare change in his pocket and counted it out. It would be just enough for three. He wondered if she would be satisfied with just two, and decided that it would be best not to leave that up to chance.

He sighed. If friendship could be bought, he was starting to become Lina's most frequent customer.

o

Lina was deeply engrossed in the book she was reading when he found her. Not so engrossed, though, that she didn't smell the takoyaki sticks as he approached.

She lifted her head just as he lowered his along with his bribery-for-forgiveness. She glanced at the eight takoyaki sticks, then at Zel, then back at the sticks, before she meekly asked, "For me?"

He pondered for a moment whether he should even bring up that he brought them for trade, decided not to, and handed them over. "Gee, Zel. You should do this more often!" she exclaimed as she happily chomped through them, reminding him a little bit of the horses he frequently hand-fed. _She wouldn't be happy to hear that, so I'll keep that to myself._

Zelgadiss peered over her shoulder at the book she was reading. "Find anything useful?" he asked. "I can't imagine the books would contain more knowledge than you already know."

"Not really," she mumbled through food pieces, and Zelgadiss swore he could see the lump traveling down her throat as she swallowed. "At the very least, it was a good refresher course. You?"

Zelgadiss was never good at hiding his feelings, and it was only a minute before his eyes lit up in remembrance of his pleasant tour through town. Lina caught it, however brief, and chimed in, "Ahh! Something good happened!"

"No, it's nothing."

"Why the cool attitude? Tell me what happened!"

"Well..." he began, feeling a little sheepish at this point. "There was this little boy, and..."

Lina listened intently as Zelgadiss told his story, completely awestruck by his sudden turn of attitude. The sullen, heartless swordsman seemed like only a memory-replaced suddenly by a youthful and spirited young man, so foreign that even she wondered if she had been bewitched without her knowing. As he finished his story, she smiled at him and said, "That's great, Zel. That's really great."

He opened his mouth to speak, but found himself mute as he looked back at her. With those eyes gazing at him so directly, he found himself suddenly overcome by a great wonder. It was this straightforward gaze that freed him from the devastation he felt under Rezo's thumb. It was this openness of her personality that welcomed him-this warmth that lifted him when he lacked strength. And, sometimes...sometimes he thought, towards her, that he might even...

She put a hand gently but firmly on his shoulder. "We should get going," she said. "Gourry and Amelia are waiting for us."

And as though he were freed from a spell, Zelgadiss nodded and dismissed his previous train of thought. He reached for his hood out of habit and lingered there briefly before slipping it up into place. Had Lina not been desperately trying to hide her face from him, she may have noticed the incongruent gesture, but she was in utter disarray from remembering the task they had set out to do, and from the dangerous thoughts that were cluttering her mind.

She couldn't think about anything but him, and it was making her fearful.

o

Zelgadiss and Lina approached the Circle of Ferre as night fell upon them. The sounds of the festival could still be heard from where they stood, thought it was a faded mist of a sound, drowned out by the whispers of the evening breeze and the chorus of life forms that emerged at dusk. The weather was getting colder and the days shorter, and Lina was suddenly aware of the passing of time and how long it had been since she had last seen Gourry-of how long it had been since she had begun this adventure with Zelgadiss.

Apparently Lina wasn't the only one lost in her thoughts because of the silence.

"Lina, I've been thinking," Zelgadiss began. "And it doesn't add up. How Ashevine could have simply _kidnapped_ Gourry doesn't make sense."

"Yeah. He may have pudding for brains, but he can protect himself-"

"You weren't with him."

Lina stopped walking. Zelgadiss stopped a few feet in front of her. When it was clear she wasn't about to volunteer information, Zelgadiss decided (against his better judgment) to pry.

"What happened-"

"_Nothing happened_, Zel."

There was a moment of absolute stillness. Zelgadiss shifted uncomfortably as Lina kept her head down, making soft noises, and the thought that she might be crying crossed his mind on more than one occasion. He took a step back (this was TOTALLY out of his league), then took a step forward (he needed to be a good friend), and reached out for her, just as...

"Laguna blade!"

He jumped back from her, distancing himself as the spell materialized between her hands and formed the familiar shape he had seen many times before. And then she swung it into the air before her, slicing it diagonally. There was the sound of a crack, then a soft roar as something crumbled before them-something like a wall, from what Zelgadiss could make out. And then the field of perception changed, and what had been the woods suddenly appeared as a barren land-barren, except for the holy energy of Ceiphied that lingered everywhere, like an essence. There was no sign of mazoku anywhere, or of the orb.

"Did we make a mistake?" Lina whispered as she straightened herself. She took a step forward, just as...

...Zelgadiss grabbed her shoulder, tipping her backwards.

"Wait. Did you do that on purpose?" he asked.

"Did I do what on purpose?"

"_You_-"

There was a spark then, and both sorcerors glanced up to see what appeared to be billions of pieces of...dust, glittering in the air. For a moment, they were too startled to respond, but then Zelgadiss realized that these fragments were beginning to gravitate quickly towards him and Lina, and he instinctively threw himself over her as they both hit the ground.

And then all was black.


	6. Chapter 6

What Matters Most – Chapter Six

He opened his eyes.

Checked his hands to make sure they were still there.

Pink and fleshy...the trick of the moon?

Or a dream?

He closed his eyes.

o

_ Please wake up...please._

He tried to open his eyes, but it didn't seem to work, as he still couldn't see anything.

_Zel!_

He felt the weight of a gentle impact against his chest, although he was still recovering his sight. Total blackness slowly transitioned to a warm, golden glow, and from that the faint colors of the world around him.

"Lina?"

There was a long, intentional silence.

"Yes, it's me."

He glanced down and could somewhat make out the shape of the girl through the haze of his blindness. Then he reached up to rub his eyes.

He gasped.

"Zel..."

"Oh no. I don't believe it. No. No." He reached up to rub his eyes again, and again, and again...

And all those times he felt it. Soft skin. A sensation so dear to his memory, and yet so different from how he remembered it. He had put so much effort into etching it into his memory forever-what it felt like to have human skin after Rezo laid his curse upon him-and yet those memories seemed absolutely incongruent compared to what he felt now. It was if his own memory had lied to him all these years.

"Lina?" He wished he could see the look on her face. Was she as astonished as he was? "Damn my eyes...I can't see a thing yet."

She softly responded, "Oh..."

It was only then that Zelgadis was suddenly cued in to her strange behavior, and then he realized that he didn't even know if something had happened to her. "Lina? Are you alright?"

She paused, and he genuinely started to feel concerned...and a little guilty for being so absorbed in his own revelations.

"I think it's best if you see for yourself."

"What?"

He reached out towards her silhouette then, but she pulled away as his fingers brushed lightly across the fabric of her shirt. And then he felt a little guilty because of the elation that swarmed through his body from the feel of the cloth on his fingers, even though she was clearly distressed. And then he felt even guiltier, for he could not fight the strong urge to reach out and touch her, even though she was pulling away.

"Please, Lina."

He heard her gulp, and then she said, "Sit still."

He complied with her request and waited. He could see her fidgeting, and then she came towards him and reached for his hand.

And when they touched, his eyes widened even though he couldn't really see, and the blood drained from his face. "No. It can't be..."

"Wait, let me speak," she began, and took both his hands in hers as he continued in quiet hysteria. "Zelgadis. Your appearance has never changed my opinion of you, and my opinion is still the same now." He felt her squeeze his hands gently, reassuringly. "Trust me."

The blurriness to his vision was beginning to clear, and he could start to make out the familiar contours of his golem skin, the signature blue hue, the shine of crystalline hair. And then he reached out to touch all of it, to feel the coldness seeping through the tips of his fingers and the pricks of her hair against his skin. And then he tried to etch the feeling into his memory-to remember what it was like to sit in that stone body-and found that his mind had already betrayed him, as it did so long ago when he first fell upon that curse about his human body. The memory of living in a nightmare already felt alien to him; it felt altered, mingled with the new sensations he more recently experienced through his humanity, stolen.

Stolen. From the girl who never once doubted his humanity, even through the exterior he presented her.

"Zel," she began, and he felt his soul crushed by the smile she gave him.

"You're human again."

But she was, no longer.

o

An hour had already passed, and the sun was already well up into the sky. In their conversation, perforated by many awkward silences, they had already discussed the possibility of smashing the relic (it was ruled out in case that made the switch permanent), smashing Zelgadis's brains in (because he felt guilty and wanted to take responsibility), and smashing Zelgadis's brains in (because Lina was getting frustrated at him). The relic itself had either manifested sometime overnight, or they had simply overlooked it, for it now appeared before them in the shape of a stone circle-dark on one side, light on the other, and covered deeply in muck. Now it lay between them as they deliberated their options.

"I _said_ we're not going to worry about this now."

"And I said I'm going to take responsibility for it."

She fumed. "How do I get this through your thick skull? I am OKAY with this, Zel."

"But I'm not," he refused flatly. "I can't imagine subjecting someone else to that experience."

"And I'm telling you," she began, drawing her face very close to his. "That I am _perfectly okay_ like this." She placed her hands on her hips. "How do I say this... Zelgadis Greywers, I've made it perfectly clear in the time that I've known you that your appearance has never bothered me. I've never been ashamed to travel with you, even if people stare. And now that I know that the one they're staring at is me, all the more to them!"

"You don't understand what it's like," he protested.

"I will. And I'll show you that I'm not ashamed of it."

He sighed, and she took his hands in hers. He couldn't help but notice the coarseness of her stone skin, and yet felt at peace as they both seemed to experience their new bodies through each other.

"How is it, Zel? You finally have that cure you've wanted all this time."

He scoffed at her. "I would hardly call this a 'cure.' Still..."

"Everything you dreamed it would be?"

He didn't respond. To be truthful, it _wasn't_, and he wondered briefly if all the trials and tribulations that led up to this moment were worth the effort. But to admit that his friends had been right all along about his long sought-after goal...

Lina smiled a little bit. "Heh, this isn't so bad. I can still feel the warmth of your hands even though I'm now one-third golem."

Zelgadis did something very uncharacteristic of himself. He reached forward and pulled her into a tight hug, not even flinching when her wiry hair dug into the soft skin of his cheek.

Lina felt like all the air had been sucked from her. "Z-Zel?"

"I promise. I'll help find a way to turn us back to normal."

She paused. Obviously, she knew what he meant by "normal," and that had only been a dream for as long as she had known him. It had occurred to her that there was a possibility that she would never, ever be going back to "normal," but she would never admit to Zelgadis that it made her slightly worried...or, more truthfully, scared. There was no way she could ever let him know that.

So she hugged him back. "Okay, Zel. I believe you. Just...don't leave me alone until then, okay?"

She felt him nod, and she sighed very lightly in relief. She felt embarrassed briefly about the rather comfortable position they shared, but since he hadn't moved, she didn't feel like escaping. And honestly...it wasn't so bad. But there was no way she could ever let him know that, either.

o

With Shian's orb now in their possession, their next affair to attend to was following the heading Zelgadis calculated based on Ashevine's flight path. If his predictions were right, they could reasonably make the trip in two days and a night. What would come after might be a little tricky, as the chimera could have landed anywhere in that ravine that awaited them beyond.

As fortune would have it, they came across a healthy stream right around lunch time, so Lina found herself a nice long tree branch to act as a fishing rod for her usual setup. However, as she reached to pluck out a strand of her hair to act as some string, she realized with her new physical appearance that the option was no longer available to her.

"Hey Zel," she called out, glancing over her shoulder in the direction he went off in. She waited for a moment, but he never answered. Shrugging, she chose to sharpen the end of her branch instead, opting to use it as a spear for catching fish. _No big deal_, she reassured herself.

Zelgadiss emerged from the woods a few minutes later to find her knee-deep in the water, spear in hand, focused on the movement she saw around her. He thought to call out to her but decided not to interrupt her concentration. He set down the game he had captured and relaxed a bit on the bank of the river; he was still enjoying the simplest of things: the feel of water running through his toes, the warm rays of the sun against his face, the feel of grass beneath his fingers, even how his damp hair stuck to his face a little bit. It was all so surreal.

He caught the image of Lina spearing a fish out of the corner of his eye and whistled softly. "I wonder if she has a spell for that method, too," he thought aloud as a small grin formed on his face. Truth be told, he was a little mesmerized by her new appearance, as it added a level of interest he never really had for the simplicity of her human exterior. Maybe it was her long, shiny hair; maybe it was the gentle sky blue tint to her eyes or the large grin that sculpted the shape of her face as she raised the fish triumphantly. Or, maybe it was how she seemed to embrace herself as she was-how he _was_.

The smile left him.

Lina looked in his direction, finally noticing his presence, and called out to him.

"Where did you go? Bathroom?"

He blushed, and Lina realized it was really obvious on his skin tone. She blushed a little in response-something she hoped he couldn't see.

"No. I set up traps." And with that, he raised a small boar and a rabbit he had managed to capture.

Lina waded through the water to where he rested, looking almost as if she were skipping through the current, and stopped near him. He could see the water soaking into her rolled up pants-dark pink contrasted against her blue golem skin. And, for once, he considered the color...well...beautiful.

"Let's start a fire," she said as she laid the speared fish down next to the boar and rabbit. "I'll leave you to do the cleaning."

Lina ran off to collect some wood, drying some wet samples here and there with a Ray Wing, then dropping them into a pile near Zelgadis and starting a fire with a small Flare Arrow. Zelgadis dealt with the animals one by one, killing them humanely, and feeling his heart race a little at the nostalgia of killing game during his youth. Not too long later, they had all three animals roasting over the fire, and the two of them were lost in conversation.

"...and I could never win an arm wrestling match against Rodimus. I swore, he was made of iron," Zelgadis said as he shook his head. "Of course, that changed after-you know."

"Does that mean I could win against you in an arm wrestling match now?" Lina asked.

The twinkle in her eye made him slightly nervous, but he stepped up to the challenge.

"Would you like to find out?"

He rolled up his sleeve and they sat next to a large rock they could use as a base. As they clasped hands, Zelgadis suddenly got serious.

"Play fair. No spells, distractions, or cheap tricks."

"When do I _not_ play fair? ...Hey."

He smiled at her annoyed face and initiated the match, catching her off guard.

"Wait a minute. How is this playing fair? Urghh..."

"I never said anything about _before_ the match."

"You little-"

And with sudden overwhelming strength, Lina overturned Zelgadis so abruptly that he lost his balance and tumbled into the water, catching himself on his elbows. She was as stunned as he was by what had happened, and was quickly up on her feet and by his side.

"Zel! Are you okay? I didn't mean to do that."

"I'm fine," he replied, although his ego was a little hurt. He hadn't realized until that moment how much strength he had lost in becoming human again. To describe it as shocking would be an understatement.

She reached out a hand to help him up, and he thought initially to ignore it, but then changed his mind.

"Hey, Lina. Do you remember that time you tossed me into the lake to use as an anchor?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I do. Why do you-oh no. No. NO NO NO NO."

Apparently she was still too late to catch on to his subtle hint, and the slippery footing beneath her facilitated her easy tumble into the water (Zelgadis made sure she wouldn't land on anything sharp-even though he hadn't realized that it would no longer hurt her if she had).

"You little bastard! Zel, you deserve what's coming-"

She didn't finish that sentence (nor did she finish forming her fireball), for the sight of him laughing was far too astonishing for her to continue.

"You really do sink just like a rock," he said as he chuckled and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "I see now why you found it so entertaining."

She scoffed at him to play along and maneuvered her way back up to his elevation. She was about to retort with something snarky when she realized that the food was looking a little toasty...

Lina picked at the burnt pieces, yanking them off as best as she could. She would normally eat them, except they were charred so well that they were solid, and therefore no longer appreciable.

Zelgadis tossed another log onto the fire. They were both soaked from head to toe, and he had a good reminder of what it felt like to get uncomfortably wrinkled skin after soaking in the water for so long. Still, he found it rather refreshing.

They ate mostly in silence-Zelgadis was lost in his world of sensations, while Lina was lost deeply in thought. The change in his demeanor was overwhelmingly obvious, and Lina felt a little worried about the promise he had made to return them back to "normal." She wondered if she would be willing to have this appearance forever if it meant this level of happiness for him. It's not like the appearance really bothered her (although she dreaded the impact it would have on her dreams for falling in love eventually), but to deny that she wanted to return to normal would be lying to herself.

There was a cool breeze, and she shuddered.

"Here, wear this."

He suddenly tossed her his cloak, which was still dry, and she cautiously wrapped it around herself. It may have just been her imagination, but it still felt warm.

Her fingers fell lightly on the hood around her neck. Then she looked at him. "I'm not going to be all broody and wear the hood," she teased.

He smiled at her. "You don't have to."

Lina felt her face go hot and turned away. She felt grateful that the fire, and the color of her skin, was probably concealing the blush that would otherwise have her face bright red at this moment. Zelgadis had never been particularly conscious of his words, but she wondered if he could have guessed how flattering she found those specific ones. She glanced up at him shyly out of the corner of her eye and saw that he had already begun to pack up his belongings.

_Probably not_, she decided.


End file.
